Dr. Roberto Pusinelli and VivaChek Sport Science R&D
Rowing demands an exceptional combination of power, endurance, and technique. It’s not just a sport—it’s a relentless test of physical and mental toughness. To reach elite performance, every stroke must be optimized, and tracking your heart rate and lactate levels can be the secret to unlocking your true potential. These tools offer deep insights into how your body responds to exertion, helping you fin-tune your training intensity and push your limits.
The Olympic Disciplines
Rowing is not a sport for the faint of heart!
When talking about rowing, we need to consider the two main disciplines that will be featured in the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympics: classic rowing and coastal rowing beach sprints.
The classic rowing race is traditionally held over a 2000-meter straight course, but in Los Angeles 2028, the distance will be reduced to 1500 meters. The duration of a classic rowing race is usually between 5 and 7 minutes, depending on conditions and athlete category. Crews row in unison over a calm water course, emphasizing endurance, technique, and optimal energy management to achieve the best possible time. The reduction to 1500 meters at the next Olympics will increase the anaerobic component, reducing race times to about 4-5:15 minutes.
In the coastal rowing beach sprint, athletes start the race by running along the beach to their boat, jumping in, and completing a high-intensity course in open water. The duration of a beach sprint is generally between 2 and 3 minutes, making it a short but extremely intense experience. These races are characterized by unpredictable sea conditions, adding an extra element of challenge. The race is short and intense, with great emphasis on explosive power, agility, and quick recovery.
With this in mind, lactate measurement in rowing becomes essential for monitoring and adjusting training sessions.
The Role of Lactate in Rowing
Lactate is the result of anaerobic metabolism: imagine your body as an engine going full speed, but suddenly lacking a bit of oxygen. That's where lactate is produced. In rowing, you constantly shift between aerobic zones (where oxygen is available and everything is fine) and anaerobic zones (where your body goes into "fire and flames" mode), so managing lactate becomes crucial.
Training near the lactate threshold — the point where lactate levels in the blood begin to rise rapidly — is like training your body to handle stress and continue giving its best. For rowers, this means being able to maintain speed and power for longer: it's as if you're "stretching" your comfort zone!
Using Heart Rate and Lactate to Guide Training
Heart rate is one of the simplest indicators to understand how much effort your body is exerting. Not only does it help you understand how much energy you're spending, but it also correlates with lactate production. That's why it's crucial to divide training into heart rate zones, each with a specific goal. Heart rate, correlated with lactate levels, helps you calibrate the right intensity, improving performance and controlling fatigue:
- Low-intensity zone (Below 2 mmol/L of lactate): Perfect for building your aerobic base and for recovery. This is where you build your endurance. Heart rate stays low, allowing the body to primarily use fat as fuel and minimize lactate accumulation.
- Moderate-intensity zone (2-4 mmol/L of lactate): In this zone, you work on real endurance and improving your MLSS (Maximum Lactate Steady State). Heart rate increases but remains in a range where your body can still manage lactate accumulation, allowing you to sustain effort for longer periods.
- High-intensity zone (Above 4 mmol/L of lactate): Here, you develop your anaerobic capacity and lactate tolerance. This is where you prepare for final sprints — it’s all or nothing! Heart rate is very high, and lactate accumulates quickly: the body learns to tolerate and clear lactate more efficiently.
Coastal Rowing Beach Sprints: Mastering Lactate Recovery
The coastal rowing beach sprint, as previously mentioned, is a completely different race compared to traditional rowing. Here, we're talking about short, explosive, adrenaline-filled races: powerful sprints with brief recoveries, where the real secret is how quickly you can clear lactate and lower your heart rate.
Physiological Demands of the Beach Sprint
In a beach sprint, you need to give it your all in just a few minutes and then recover quickly. The anaerobic energy system is in overdrive, and lactate buildup becomes significant. You need to train for:
- Short-duration effort: With races lasting 2-3 minutes, you need to bring out all the possible power with no reserves.
- Quick recovery: Clearing lactate quickly is key to being ready for the next heat. Monitoring heart rate and lactate during recovery helps you assess how quickly your body is recovering.
- Explosive power: From the start on the beach to transitions in the water, every move counts.
Assessing Lactate Recovery and Heart Rate
To optimize performance in beach sprints, it's crucial to monitor how your body recovers between races:
- Lactate clearance rate: How quickly lactate drops to an acceptable level (below 4 mmol/L) after maximum exertion.
- Heart rate recovery (HRR): How quickly your heart rate drops in the first 60 seconds post-exercise is a powerful indicator of your fitness level.
Conclusion
In rowing, every detail matters. Measuring and understanding heart rate and lactate levels is crucial for maximizing performance, whether you’re enduring the grind of classic rowing or the explosive intensity of beach sprints. Lactate monitoring helps fine-tune training intensity, optimize recovery, and delay fatigue—key factors for achieving elite performance.
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About the Authors
This article is a collaborative effort between VivaChek Sport Science R&D, a team dedicated to advancing innovative tools for sports performance and health monitoring, and Dr. Roberto Pusinelli, an Italian sports scientist, fitness expert, and CEO of Undertraining SAGL.
Dr. Pusinelli brings extensive expertise in coaching, nutrition, and athletic performance, having worked with elite athletes to achieve remarkable results in national and international competitions. VivaChek R&D complements this with its commitment to cutting-edge research and development in lactate monitoring, ensuring athletes have access to the best tools to optimize their performance.
For further insights or inquiries, reach out to roberto_pusinelli@undertraining.ch.